On the heels of announcing its blockbuster agreement to buy Warner Bros. and HBO Max, Netflix sought to reassure customers that nothing will be changing — right now — with its service or subscription plans.
The streaming company sent an email late Friday to millions of Netflix subscribers with the subject line: “Welcoming Warner Bros. to Netflix.”
“We recently announced that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO,” the message reads. “This unites our leading entertainment service with Warner Bros.’ iconic stories, bringing some of the world’s most beloved franchises like Harry Potter, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Casablanca, Game of Thrones and the DC Universe together with Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, Bridgerton and KPop Demon Hunters.”
Under the heading “What’s changing?”, the email says: “Nothing is changing today. Both streaming services will continue to operate separately.” Netflix had previously said in its announcement that Warner Bros. will be operated separately, with the HBO Max service continuing to run as a discrete service initially, and the email to customers sought to emphasize that point directly.
The Netflix message continues, “We have more steps to complete before the deal is closed, including regulatory and shareholder approvals. You’ll hear from us when we have more to share. In the meantime, we hope you’ll continue to enjoy watching as much as you want, whenever you want — all on your current membership plan.”
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery said they expect to close the transaction in 12-18 months, pending WBD shareholder approval and regulatory clearances. Under the agreement, Netflix is acquiring the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, HBO Max and HBO and the Warner Bros. Games business. The deal has an equity value of $72 billion and an enterprise value of $82.7 billion (which includes debt).
The Netflix email sent Friday also directs customers to a section of its help-center site with an FAQ about the Warner Bros. deal. One of the questions reads, “What if I already have an HBO Max subscription, should I cancel?” to which the answer listed is, “Netflix and Warner Bros. will remain separate until the transaction is closed.”
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The message concludes, “Thank you for choosing Netflix. We’re committed to bringing you more great TV shows, movies, games and live programming.”
As part of maintaining Warner Bros.’ studio operations independently, Netflix said it will continue to release Warner Bros. movies in theatres — although eventually those release windows will shrink to be “much more consumer friendly,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts on a call.
From Variety US